1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a format-information synthesizing system suitable for use in a computer output recording system, and more particularly to a format-information synthesizing system which synthesizes a computer output information with a predetermined format for the output information optically carried by a format transparency to record the information on a recording medium together with the format.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been known a COM (Computer Output Microfilmer) system which is used as an output system in a computer for reading out information stored in a memory such as a magnetic recording tape and synthesizing the information with a format carried on a format transparency to record the information together with the format on a recording medium such as a photosensitive film or a heat sensitive film.
In the conventional COM system, the information to be recorded is optically synthesized with the format by means of a semi-transparent mirror. That is, in the conventional COM system, a laser beam emitted from a laser source passes through an on-off modulator and is deflected by a beam scanner to scan the surface of a recording medium. The on-off modulator and the beam scanner cooperate with each other to cause the laser beam to impinge upon selective areas of the recording medium so that the exposed areas form characters representing the information read out from the memory. The on-off modulator and the beam scanner are controlled by a control means which generates a character pattern signal corresponding to the read out information.
An image of the format carried on a format transparency is optically projected on the surface of the recording medium through a semi-transparent mirror which is located between the beam scanner and the recording medium, and recorded on the recording medium to be synthesized with said characters.
However, in the conventional COM system in which the information and the format are optically synthesized with each other, if the format transparency is displaced slightly from its normal position, the characters and the format may be adversely overlapped or superimposed with each other in part on the surface of the recording medium. If a character is superimposed with a black portion of the format, the character will become illegible.
The characters superimposed with the format can be made readable by reversing the black-and-white relation of both the superimposed portions of the format and the characters so that the portion of the character superimposed with the format appears as a white portion where other portions of the characters and the format appear black. However, in the above described conventional COM system, even though it may be possible to reverse the black-and-white relation of the character pattern, it is impossible to reverse the black-and-white relation of the format pattern.